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SOIL FORMING PROCESSES

By

Prof. A. Balasubramanian

Centre for Advanced Studies in Earth Science,

University of Mysore, Mysore

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1. Introduction

Soils are the products of weathering from some

parent rocks.

Soil formation is a long term process. It takes

several million years to form a thin layer of soil.

As soil is a complex mixture of various

components, its formation is also more

complex.

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The Formation of a particular type of soil

depends upon the physico-chemical properties

of the parent rock, intensity and duration of

weathering, climatic and other parameters.

Pedogenesis or soil evolution (formation) is

the process by which soils are formed.

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2. Origin of soils:

All soils initially come from some pre-existing

rocks.

They are called as ‘parent materials’.

The Parent Material may be directly below the

soil, or at great distances away from it.

The force of wind, water or glaciers might have

transported the soil to some other place.

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In addition to the soil parent material, origin of

soil is also dependent upon other prevailing

processes affecting soil formation.

Climatic conditions are important factors

affecting both the form and rate of physical and

chemical weathering of the parent material.

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The formation of soils can be seen as a

combination

of the products of weathering,

of structural development of the soil,

of differentiation of that structure into horizons

or layers, and lastly

of its movement or translocation.

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3. Factors of Soil Formation

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A. Time:

Soil formation takes several hundreds to

thousands of years to undergo significant

changes.

Most of the soils of the world have taken more

than 10,000 years to form the current state of

soils.

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B. Parental Material (PM)

The parental material determines the

mineralogical composition and widely

contributes to the chemical and physical

characteristics of the soil.

The type of parental material also determines

the rate at which soil forming processes occurs.

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Different places have different soils based on

the parent materials such as marine area peaty

soils due to the marine organic deposits and

flood plain clay soils due to alluvial deposits.

Accordingly, the complexity of soil patterns,

texture, composition, and color in different

areas highly depends on the physical and

chemical compositions of the parent materials.

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Majority of loamy soil, for instance, forms as a

result of thin deposits of fine grained materials

that have been mixed with organic materials

and other underlying materials through natural

process.

C. Climate:

Climate especially precipitation, temperature

and frost action have a fundamental influence

on the soil formation process that takes place

within any given location.

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The prevailing climatic conditions highly

determine the nature of weathering process that

will take place and the rates of physical and

chemical processes.

Climate directly has an effect on the kind of

vegetation in an area which in turn will affect

the soil formation processes related to root

penetration and vegetation cover.

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The availability of moisture also has an

influence on soil pH and the decomposition

of organic matter.

The accumulation and decay of organic matter

also depends on humidity and temperature.

Rainfall leaches away soluble materials and

iron-rich minerals from the upper soil horizons

into the lower ones and evaporation brings

about the accumulation of salt compounds in

the surface horizons.

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Cold winter temperatures give room for frost

action which physically disintegrates the rocks

into fragments.

D. Topography and relief

Topography is the configuration of a land

surface and the relations among its man-made

and natural features.

Typically, it is the shape of the land surface and

its position as well as slope on the landscape.

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So, these characteristics all together highly

determine the types of soils formed within a

region.

In most regions, soils formed from similar

parent materials under the same climatic

conditions present differences due to their

position on the landscape.

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The differences are primarily because of

varying drainage conditions owed to the depth

of the water table or surface runoff.

Soils formed on sloping areas and higher

elevations are by and large excessively drained.

E. Organisms (living things including man,

plants and animals)

All living organisms play an active role in the

soil formation processes.

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Organisms including fungi, bacteria, animals,

humans, and vegetations are the major

determinants and they impact on the physical

and chemical environments of the soils.

Micro-organisms encourage acidic

conditions which change the soils chemistry and

eventually determine the kind of soil formation

process that occur.

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Microbial activities also decompose organic

matter and recycle them in the soil.

Larger animals including burrowing animals

and earthworms mix the soil and alter its

physical characteristics.

Man’s activates have as well made tremendous

changes to the natural soils.

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Through cultivation, construction, and addition

of fertilizer and lime has altered the physical

and chemical properties of the soil.

Filling, mining, and artificial drainage have

altered the natural soil environments thereby

negatively and positively affecting the process

of soil formation.

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4. Four Soil Forming Processes

a. Additions:

Materials added to the soil, such as

decomposing vegetation and organisms

(organic matter --OM), or new mineral

materials deposited by wind or water.

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b. Losses:

Through the movement of wind or water, or

uptake by plants, soil particles (sand, silt, clay,

and OM) or chemical compounds can be

eroded, leached, or harvested from the soil,

altering the chemical and physical makeup of

the soil.

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c. Transformations:

The chemical weathering of sand and

formation of clay minerals, transformation of

coarse OM into decay resistant organic

compounds (humus).

Translocations:

Movement of soil constituents (organic or

mineral) within the profile and/or between

horizons.

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Over time, this process is one of the more

visibly noticeable one, as it shows alterations

in

color,

texture, and

structure become apparent.

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Transported

The parent material transported from their place

of origin. They are named

according to the main force responsible for the

transport and redeposition.

a) by gravity - Colluvial

b) by water - Alluvial , Marine , Locustrine

c) by ice - Glacial

d) by wind - Eolian

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5. Seven Mechanisms of Soil Formation

A. Accumulation of materials

Materials are added to the soil such as organic

matter and decomposing materials or new

mineral materials deposited by the forces of ice,

water or wind and they accumulate over time.

This happens in the top layer of the soil.

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In poorly drained soils, the organic materials

accumulate since water-logging prevents it from

being oxidized or broken down by soil

organisms.

In well drained soils, the materials accumulate

when they are held up by the root systems.

Depositions by the forces of wind, water or ice

equally contribute to the accumulation of new

materials.

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Some plants with the help of bacteria fix

atmospheric nitrogen and ammonia compounds

into the soil as nitrates.

B. Leaching and other losses:

Leaching -

Leaching is the removal of soluable components

of the soil column.

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As water washes down through the soil it can

carry away bases such as calcium, held as

exchangeable ions in clay-humus complexes, as

well as acidification through the substitution of

hydrogen ions.

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Through the movement of water, wind, ice or

the uptake of the accumulated materials by

plants, the new particles including clay, organic

matter, clay, silt or other chemical compounds

are leached and eroded away or taken up from

the soil by plants.

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As a result, the physical and chemical

compositions of the new accumulated materials

together with the soil parent material are

altered. A prime example is the leaching out of

some carbonates, magnesium and other

minerals.

C. Transformation and illluviation

Here the soil particles held in the suspension

after the leaching such as clay are transformed

after which they accumulate.

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Transformation is the chemical weathering of

silt, sand, and the formation of clay minerals as

well as the change of organic materials into

decay resistant organic matter.

After, the clay and other accumulated materials

are washed from the upper horizons and

deposited in the lower horizons.

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The plants and animals are also responsible for

transformation of the soil by physically and

chemically breaking down the materials.

The soil begins to take shape on its own through

transformation, which improves natural

drainage and nutrient composition.

Illuviation - here soil particles held in

suspension, such as clay, are accumulated (eg.

deposited).

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Eluviation - here soil particles held in

suspension, such as clay, are removed (eg.

washed away).

D. Podsolisation and translocations:

Podsolisation - podsolisation occurs when

strongly acid soil solutions cause the breakdown

of clay minerals.

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As a result silica, aluminium and iron form

complexes with organic substances in the soil.

These minerals are removed from the surface

zone of the soil and can accumulate in distinct

dark sub-surface layers - very evident on

inspection.

Upland heaths and moors often contain podsols.

Podsolisation takes place when strong acidic

solutions breakdown the clay minerals.

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Accordingly, aluminum, silica and iron form

complex materials together with organic

compounds in the soil.

These materials and the other accumulations are

translocated within the profile and/or between

the horizons.

After a relatively extended time, the movements

of the accumulated mineral precipitate such as

iron oxides minerals are responsible for the

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reddish and brownish color of the different soil

horizons.

E. Laterization is a pedogenic process common

to soils found in tropical and subtropical

environments. High temperatures and heavy

precipitation result in the rapid weathering of

rocks and minerals. Movements of large

amounts of water through the soil

cause eluviation and leaching to occur.

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F. Calcification

Occurs when evapotranspiration exceeds

precipitation causing the upward movement of

dissolved alkaline salts from the groundwater.

At the same time, the movement of rain water

causes a downward movement of the salts.

The net result is the deposition of the

translocated cations in the B horizon.

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In some cases, these deposits can form a hard

layer called caliche.

G. Gleying -

Gleying occurs in waterlogged, anaerobic

conditions when iron compounds are reduced

and either removed from the soil, or segregated

out as mottles or concretions in the soil. Marshy

wetlands often contain gleyed soils.

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6. Weathering Processes

One important influence on the formation of

soils is weathering.

There are two main categories of weathering,

both having different effects:

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Physical Weathering:

• Freezing and Thawing

• Heating and Cooling

• Wetting and Drying

• Grinding or Rubbing

• Unloading

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Chemical Weathering

•Solution

•Hydrolysis

•Carbonation

•Hydration

•Oxidation

•Reduction.

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Topographic controls:

a) Soil formation on flat to almost flat

position

b) Soil formation on undulating topography

c) Soil formation in depression

d) Soil formation and Exposure/ Aspect

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Precipitation

Precipitation is the most important factor among

the climatic factors.

As water percolates and moves from one part

of the parent material to another.

It carries with it substances in solution as

well as in suspension.

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These substances are re-deposited in another

part or completely removed from the material

through percolation. It happens when the soil

moisture at the surface evaporates causing an

upward movement of water.

The soluble substances move with it and are

translocated to the upper layer.

Thus, precipitation brings about a redistribution

of substances both soluble as well as in

suspension, in soil matrix.

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Humification:

Humification is a major process of

transformation of raw OM into humus form. It

is extremely a complex process involving

various microorganisms. First, simple

compounds such as sugars and starches are

attacked followed by proteins and cellulose and

finally very resistant compounds, such as

tannins, are decomposed and the dark coloured

substance, known as humus, is formed.

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Podzolization:

It is a process of soil formation resulting in the

formation of Podzols and Podzolic soils.This

process is the negative of calcification. The

calcification process tends to concentrate

calcium in the lower part of the B horizon,

whereas podzolization leaches the entire solum

of calcium carbonates.Apart from calcium, the

other bases are also removed and then the

whole soil becomes distinctly acidic.

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Laterization:

The term laterite refers to a particular cemented

horizon in certain soils which when dried,

become very hard, like a brick.

Such soils (in tropics) when massively

impregnated with sesquioxides (iron and

aluminium oxides) to extent of 70 to 80 per cent

of the total mass, they become laterites or

latosols (Oxisols).

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This type of soil forming process is called

Laterization or Latozation.

In this process, removes silica is removed.

Then, sesquioxides concentrate in the solum.

The process happens under the following

conditions.

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Gleization:

The term glei in Russian means blue, grey or

green clay. The Gleization is a process of soil

formation resulting in the development of a glei

(or gley horizon) in the lower part of the soil

profile above the parent material. This happens

due to poor drainage condition (lack of oxygen)

and where waterlogged conditions prevail.

Such soils are called hydro orphic soils.

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Salinization:

It is the process of accumulation of salts, such

as sulphates and chlorides of calcium,

magnesium, sodium and potassium, in soils.

This occurs in the form of a salty (salic)

horizon. It is quite common in arid and semi

arid regions. It may also take place through

capillary rise of saline ground water and by

inundation with seawater in marine and coastal

soils.

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7. Desalinization

It is the removal by leaching of excess soluble

salts from horizons or soil profile.

8. Solonization or Alkalization

The process involves the accumulation of

sodium ions on the exchange complex of the

clay, resulting in the formation of sodic soils

(Solonetz).

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Pedoturbation:

Another process that may be operative in soils

is pedoturbation. It is the process of

mixing of the soil. The most common types of

pedoturbation are:

Faunal pedoturbation:

It is the mixing of soil by animals such as ants,

earthworms, moles, rodents, and humans.

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Floral pedoturbation :

It is the mixing of soil by plants as in tree

tipping that forms pits and mounds

Argillic pedoturbation:

It is the mixing of materials in the solum by the

churning process caused by swell & shrink

clays as observed in some deep Black Cotton

Soils, in India.